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August 2006
New Superhero crowned tonight!
It’s a reality show that’s been flying under the radar — which means not many people have been watching — but in case you care, the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Who Wants To Be a Superhero?” picks a winner tonight at 8.
The bizarre competition, concocted and judged by legendary comic-book guy Stan Lee, has winnowed its field of all-age crazies from 11 to 2. The winner will get to star in an original movie for the Sci-Fi Channel and be featured in his or her very own comic book.
While the concept sounded like a joke to some, Lee takes the show seriously and will be on hand to anoint tonight’s winner. He claims the competition encourages people to help each other and ultimately will reward the one who best fits the do-gooder definition of a superhero.
The new Superhero will be one of the following:
Fat Momma — This superhero, who looks pretty fabulous in pink Spandex, has the power to grow to five times her normal size when she’s angry. Her fuel? Doughnuts, and lots of them. Her vulnerability? Diet food of any kind, which saps her strength and shrinks her fantastic form. In real life, Fat Momma is Nell Wilson, a 42-year-old single mom and online saleswoman.
Feedback — Younger and hunkier, he absorbs power from video games and generates a feedback field that disrupts electronics. He has to watch out for power lines, which give him migraines, and microwaves, which make him hurl. In real life, Feedback is Matthew Atherton, 34, who works as a software engineer.
Big Momma and Feedback will engage in one final competition at a Hollywood stunt school to determine the winner. And that, reality fans, is entertainment. Or at least a sci-fi version thereof!
Schlitterbahn on MTV? Maybe …
It’s one of those iffy prospects, but MTV is considering a reality series pilot called “Waterpark,” which may or may not be filmed next summer at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. The cable network had a low-key casting call last weekend, looking for “an awesome group of friends and co-workers” from the park. These folks, of course, had to be cute, young, charismatic, energetic and committed to working at Schlitterbahn next summer. Talk about planning for the future.
“We will document the fun, the challenges and the excitement of working at the world’s No. 1-rated waterpark!” MTV said.
What that really means is they’re looking for hook-ups, break-ups and, possibly, drunken near-drownings by park visitors. Cool.
Weak ‘Justice’ debuts on Fox
“Justice,” the new legal drama starring former “Alias” honcho Victor Garber, is slick, cynical and horribly disappointing.
There probably is a series to be made about the media spin of high-profile criminal cases, but “Justice”, which debuts tonight at 8 on Fox, isn’t it.
Yes, we are privy to all the shenanigans that filthy-rich defense firms employ — unmarried attorneys wear wedding rings so that jurors will like them, focus groups guide the show, shadow juries predict verdicts, publicity manipulation is king.
“This is trial by TV,” Garber’s well-dressed legal eagle Ron Trott proclaims proudly.
But what should be fascinating — essentially, an exploration of the trickle-down effect of the O.J. Simpson murder trial — is little more than an annoyingly quick-edit scamper around all the cosmetic details. The drama needs to slow down, get serious and lighten up on the superficial elements.
Tonight’s opener involves a generic murder in which a man is accused of killing his cheating wife. Trott takes on the media circus and assigns a younger, handsomer and more sympathetic lawyer from his firm to handle the courtroom duties. It’s over, in terms of any kind of suspense, before the first commercial.
Garber is too good an actor for such fluff, and creator-producer Jerry Bruckheimer has too good a track record to allow this to continue. Either “Justice” will get better or it’ll be gone before Halloween.
Bye Bye, Bob
Speaking of gone …
Dependable-as-daylight Bob Schieffer takes a bow on the “CBS Evening News” Thursday night, and the network, which is practically drowning in its own obsessive promotion of soon-to-debut (Tuesday) anchor Katie Couric, is hinting that the Perky One might pop in for the farewell.
Schieffer deserves a nice tribute, doesn’t he? When all heck was breaking loose with Dan Rather last year, it was Rather’s former “Deputy Dog” who stepped in and calmed the turbulent waters. During Schieffer’s “temporary” 18-month run, CBS’s news has gained viewers. It’s still behind NBC and ABC, but it has picked up a sizable chunk of audience.
Schieffer will continue to anchor his Sunday stalwart “Face the Nation” and be a weekly commentator on Couric’s “Evening News.”
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A fine finale for ‘Rescue Me’
Hold onto your seats, because tonight’s “Rescue Me” season finale is going to be a bumpy ride. Check it out at 9 p.m. on FX.
As you would expect, there is dark humor and heavy drama. And there will be an ambiguous cliffhanger to keep us wondering until the show returns next summer.
Denis Leary, who stars as New York firefighter Tommy Gavin, might have lost the best actor Emmy on Sunday, but he hasn’t lost his touch with these spectacularly flawed, raw-as-sushi characters.
In case you haven’t been paying attention during the credits, Leary is co-creator (with his business partner Peter Tolan), executive producer and writer on this superb drama. And his twisted, black Irish persona is evident throughout.
During the show’s third season, “Rescue Me” dealt with its usual array of tragedy and tumult. One firefighter has been exploring the possibility that he is gay, another had a heart attack while having sex with his sick wife’s caregiver, another married Tommy’s sister (at the funeral of their brother, no less!) and Tommy may or may not have impregnated his ex-wife while pondering a future with another woman.
Oh, and Leary set off a firestorm a few weeks ago when Tommy raped his ex-wife … but toward the end of the assault, she seemed to enjoy it. What kind of message was being sent? No message, according to Leary; just two wickedly twisted characters acting out their bizarre sexual attraction.
The past few episodes have dealt with the possibility that the close-knit group of firefighters might be breaking up. Tonight’s finale will answer some questions but raise others … like whether a certain someone will live or die in yet another life-and-death situation.
In a touching sequence that few other edgy comedy-dramas could get away with, “Rescue Me” includes a tribute to the firefighters who died in the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It’s a potentially dangerous moment that comes off with amazing dignity.
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Conan, si! Emmys, no!!
What the heck was that? Mariska Hargitay beat Kyra Sedgwick, Megan Mullally beat Jaime Presley, Tony Shalhoub beat Steve Carrell and neither Jean Smart nor Gregory Itzin won for playing the totally dysfunctional president and first lady on “24?” We were robbed!!
Check out the whole list for the full horror.
It was a night of bizarre results and, on occasion, even more bizarre presentations. Charlie Sheen and dad Martin Sheen stumbled through a woefully written intro as they presented Blythe Danner with a supporting actress award, and Howie Mandel launched into a shameless promotion for his icky game show “Deal or No Deal” during his award hand-out.
Here’s an important tip for award presenters: If you don’t want to come off looking like an idiot, write your own quips and deliver them with gusto. The crowd appreciates the effort.
Witness Hugh Laurie, who translated Helen Mirren’s remarks into a bumbling, over-pronounced French. Very funny. Best of all were Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who served up a hilarious schtick as they presented the Emmy for reality competition. Colbert, always in character as the pompous host of his fake conservative talk show on Comedy Central, blasted reality TV as “the gates of hell” … and then burst into tears because he got beat for his own Emmy (comedy or variety performance) by Barry Manilow.
If one man could have saved last night’s Emmy Awards from total boredom, it would have been stork-bodied, carrot-topped host Conan O’Brien. Not even he could pull the telecast out of its total misery, but he certainly did a commendable job trying.
O’Brien’s intro to the telecast, an homage to several TV shows and no doubt inspired by Billy Crystal’s Oscar openings, started with a plane crash onto the beach of “Lost,” continued with a visit to “The Office,” then popped into a frantic phone call between Jack and Chloe on “24,” then on to the examining room of “House” and then a quick trip to “South Park” (and into the closet occupied by Tom Cruise).
O’Brien topped off his opening with a cool spoof of “The Music Man.” The whole bit was inspired. So was another bit in which the host locked Bob Newhart into an airtight cylinder with exactly three hours worth of oxygen. Either the Emmys would end on time, Conan said, or Bob would die.
Tributes are always dicey on awards shows, and last night’s offerings were no exception. “American Idol” grump-pot Simon Cowell’s tribute to Dick Clark, who looked good but was difficult to understand because of his stroke, seemed heartfelt and was generally well-received.
The Aaron Spelling tribute, however, left a lot to be desired, and the audience sat on its hands for the most part. It didn’t help that the original “Charlie’s Angels” — Kate Jackson, batty-looking-and-sounding Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith — all seemed terrified.
I’m all in favor “In Memoriam” segments that remind us of tthe alented people who died during the previous year. But do casting directors, talent agents and obscure producers have to be included?
Finally, the fashion police should have arrested Candice Bergen’s stylist before the star got out of the limo. Bergen is a classic beauty who has aged extremely well. I’m a huge fan. But whoever put her in that white blouse, enormous Western belt and long blue skirt with a fishtail should be slapped. She looked like a chubby old cowgirl, which is the opposite of Bergen’s usual cool sophistication.
The good news? The Emmy Awards ended straight up at 9:59, right on time. Be thankful for small favors … and look forward to next year, when “My Name Is Earl” and “Rescue Me” should win the awards they so richly deserve.
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“SNL” upheaval coming
Who’s in and who’s out at “Saturday Night Live?”
Nobody seems to know for sure, but speculation has been rampant this week that the venerable NBC late-night sketch show is facing its biggest cast overhaul in years.
Here’s what we know for sure: When the show opens its 32nd season next month, it will be missing writer-actor Tina Fey and actor Rachel Dratch. Both women are heading for NBC’s new “SNL”-inspired sitcom “30 Rock.”
Various big-city tabloids have speculated that Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, Will Forte, Maya Rudolph and Kenan Thompson also will be gone. But Sanz told the Chicago Sun-Times that nobody has told him he’s not returning.
Wouldn’t be the first time an actor was the last to know he’s lost a gig.
At the Television Critics Association meetings in July, creator-executive producer Lorne Michaels declined to specify who’s staying and who’s going — except for Fey and Dratch. He’s producing their sitcom, so he has been aware of their pending departure for months.
Michaels also said the mammoth cast of 16 is one of the largest ever for “SNL,” and budget cuts will force a fairly large scale-back.
Actually, streamlining this group might help the creative process for what many have said was a sagging season.
One cast member “SNL” cannot afford to lose is Darrell Hammond, who does all the spot-on impersonations for which the show is famous. Among others, Hammond transforms himself into Dick Cheney, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, “Hardball” host Chris Matthews, Sean Connery, Regis Philbin and Donald Trump.
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Segregated “Survivor,” plus or minus?
The segregation twist announced for the 13th edition of “Survivor” already has accomplished what CBS and creator Mark Burnett wanted — buzz and hype for a reality show currently perceived as worn and weary.
This week we found out that the latest version of “Survivor,” scheduled to arrive Sept. 14 from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, will divide the 20 contestants into four teams along racial and ethnic lines.
There will be blacks, Asians, Latinos and plain-old whites competing — at least in the first part of the season. As voting off the island proceeds, the teams eventually will merge, and color lines will disappear.
Burnett, the mega-producer from England, has said this social experiment in fake reality just might have a positive effect on race relations reality. He did not follow up that statement by predicting that elephants will fly, but he could have done so with equal credibility.
In another of the gazillion interviews Burnett has conducted this week to promote “Survivor,” he also made the following statement: “In America today, I really don’t believe there are many people who hate each other because of their race”.
Again, elephants could very well take flight.
Reaction among fans on the Internet ranges from suspicion to disgust. For the most part, people see the segregation twist as a blatant attempt to curtail the ratings decline that “Survivor” suffered last time out. The Panama-set series averaged a series low 16.8 million viewers each week. Even with that little swoon, “Survivor” is still the most-watched reality show on TV.
Host Jeff Probst weighed in with his opinions on the flap in a Q&A blog on The Slug.
“This is an equal opportunity game,” says Probst. “Twenty people are given the same materials, the same odds of winning a million dollars.”
The goal, of course, is for sparks to fly. Maybe it will be interesting, but more likely it will be a manufactured version of reality, which is what reality shows are anyway. This one just has the potential to be more excruciating to watch than others.
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Network newsies in flux
All the anchor shifts are affecting mornings as much as evenings. We’re going to need a Playbill to keep track of who’s where and on at what time.
When Katie Couric debuts as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” on Sept. 5, Meredith Vieira steps into the co-anchor slot on NBC’s “Today.” She joins Matt Lauer who, poor thing, just can’t seem to catch any attention in the shadow of all the female stars.
Charles Gibson’s departure last month to become the permanent replacement for the late Peter Jennings, Bob Woodward and Elizabeth Vargas on “ABC’s World News,” left a gaping hole in “Good Morning America.” Diane Sawyer is now paired with Robin Roberts, who used to be the news anchor on the morning show but got bumped up to co-anchor. Two female anchors on a major network news show? Mon dieu!
Yesterday ABC News tapped Chris Cuomo to replace Roberts as news anchor on “GMA.” Cuomo, 36, has been the network’s legal correspondent and star hottie for several years. He’s the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. His brother Andrew is a candidate for New York state attorney general.
Cuomo starts his new gig Sept. 5 — and will continue to contribute features to ABC’s “Primetime.” A new “GMA” weatherman is still to be named. Tony Perkins, who left “GMA” last December, has never been replaced. How about Austin’s own Mark Murray? It’s time for him to step up from KVUE to ABC, isn’t it?
UPDATE: ABC has now picked Sam Champion for the weather job.
Gandolfini’s next gig
James Gandolfini has signed a new contract with HBO, but not to play Tony Soprano. When “The Sopranos” wraps its final season next year (we’ll believe that when we see it), Gandolfini will begin a three-year production deal with the premium channel that will allow him to develop and star in several projects.
First up, Gandolfini, who always plays gangsters (he won three Emmys for “The Sopranos”), will play cerebral author Ernest Hemingway. Hard to imagine, but maybe he really does have acting chops. The film is said to focus on Hemingway’s romance with war correspondent Martha Gellhorn.
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‘Prison Break’ returns, ‘Vanished’ debuts
As it is wont to do, Fox jumps out ahead of the new fall season tonight with the second-season opener of “Prison Break” and the premiere of the new drama “Vanished.”
Both are self-described “serial thrillers,” but only one lives up to the title — that one, of course, is “Prison Break.”
The action starts (at 7 tonight) where it left off in May, with Michael Scofield and his brother Lincoln on the run after their elaborate, season-long escape from prison in Joliet, Ill. (The new season is being shot in Dallas, where temps have been over 100. Makes you wonder how they survived all those running scenes wearing sweatshirts.)
The escapees are being pursued by the snarling, frothing Capt. Bellick and his slightly more sanguine (but still miffed at being betrayed by Scofield) Warden Pope.
The desperate convicts are fleeing together, except for the chillingly loathsome T-Bag, whose hand was lopped off by another inmate as the escape began in last season’s finale. Dragging his severed hand with him in an ice chest, T-Bag forces a veterinarian to re-attach his appendage — and then thanks him in typical T-Bag fashion. I won’t spoil the fun by telling you how.
The opener plays out a little slower than the breathtaking pace set last season, but it’s still one of the most suspenseful thrillers out there. Austin’s Marshall Allman returns as Lincoln’s son L.J., turning in another fine performance. New to the cast is William Fichtner, late of “Invasion,” who plays an FBI agent in hot pursuit of the escapees.
And the conspiracy plot line heats up. In the finale, you may recall, we learned that the vice president’s brother, whom Lincoln is accused of killing, is very much alive. Now, after the death of the president, the vice president has become president — and we are left to wonder how much did she know and when did she know it?
Paul Scheuring, the series’ creator/executive producer, promises many characters will be killed off in upcoming episodes — presumably not one of the two stars, Wentworth Miller (Scofield) or Dominic Purcell (Lincoln). But you never know.
“Vanished,” the newcomer (at 8 tonight), pales miserably on the heels of “Prison Break.” It tries hard, but it’s basically just an over-the-top sudser chock full of stereotypical characters — the grumpy hero, the tragic victim, the super-pushy TV reporter, etc.
Georgia’s U.S. Senator Jeffrey Collins is having a fabulous time with his lovely wife Sara, having just placed a stunning diamond necklace around her lovely neck, when she suddenly disappears.
Quick on the case is the previously mentioned grumpy FBI agent, Graham Kelton, who has just screwed up a case and witnessed a miserable death. He soon discovers that the happy marriage of the senator and his wife had some dark secrets — and the wife may not have been exactly who she said she was.
Two back-to-back Fox series with political conspiracies and other mysteries worked when the second series was “24” last year. “Vanished” just doesn’t cut it, but “Prison Break” is back in fine form.
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All JonBenet, all the time!
It is more like projectile vomiting than TV coverage of a breaking news story, isn’t it?
Since Wednesday — and especially on Thursday — cable news was all JonBenet, all the time, and even the sometimes stodgy broadcast newscasts scrapped their nightly terrorism stories for the murdered beauty-pageant child.
John Mark Karr, he of the creepy gaze and skinny neck, was everywhere Thursday, confessing his love for JonBenet Ramsey and confessing that he also, by the way, “accidentally” killed her. His perp walk in Thailand turned into the gaping, air-sucking event of the summer news season.
The decade-old, unsolved murder even got booked into prime-time specials last night. ABC dragged out every shot they’d ever banked of Barbara Walters quizzing JonBenet’s parents John and Patsy about whether or not they offed their adorable tyke on Christmas night.
And all those disturbing (to some of us) shots of JonBenet prancing around in Vegas show-girl outfits with big hair and full makeup surfaced once again.
It was tabloid TV at its tackiest. Sure, TV was just catering to the public’s apparently unquenchable fascination with the murdered tot. And with the new images of this walking sexual perversion in khakis and polo shirt (was anybody else reminded of Ed Grimley?) to feed on, the frenzy was intense.
We were cautioned, from time to time, to consider that Karr may be making all this up to garner his grotesque time in the limelight. He may be super creepy but he may not be a child rapist and murderer. DNA tests, we were reminded, should settle this dispute. Stay tuned.
But until such evidence is in, we are left with floating images of JonBenet strutting through beauty pageants and Karr posing for cameras. The frenzy continues …
“Talent” winner terrified
I stumbled upon the conclusion of NBC’s red-hot summer reality show “America’s Got Talent” last night and suddenly became desperately worried about the winner.
Bianca Ryan, an 11-year-old singer with a boozy Janis Joplin voice, won the $1 million prize. Fine. But she looked like she was about to faint, have a heart attack or simply drop dead right there on live TV. It was not amusing. It was scary.
Host Regis Philbin looked concerned as he tried, unsuccessfully to get her to say (a) if she was OK and (b) how she felt about winning.
“You all right? Bianca, how do you feel, darling? You OK?”’ Philbin pleaded with a worried brow.
The poor girl quivered and stood there stone-faced. No smile. And then it was over. “America’s Got Talent” returns in January; steel yourself.
Austin’s Access TV opens its doors
Public Access Community Television (PACT) is hosting an open house 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the facility at 1143 Northwestern Ave.
With the guidance of new management, the city is re-building and expanding Austin’s community access TV facility. It will house a new playback system capable of delivering programs to Time Warner and Grande channels 10, 11, and 16, and simultaneously streaming content on the Internet.
People can tour the TV studios and speak out live on Cable Channel 10 on PACT’s open-mic “Soapbox.” The open house is part of a three day Public Access TV Reunion and Free Speech Forum.
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Dan Rather gets a primetime tribute
Part-time Austinite Dan Rather is getting an official CBS send-off after all.
The special, “Dan Rather: A Reporter Remembers,” is scheduled to air Friday, Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. If you hadn’t noticed, that’s the Friday that starts the Labor Day weekend, which means normally low viewing levels on Fridays will be even lower.
The timing no doubt has a lot to do with Katie Couric’s debut as his replacement on Sept. 5. CBS had promised Rather a prime-time goodbye in June, when he left the network, and it probably seemed best to get it out of the way before the new anchor arrives.
But at least CBS News is offering a semi-salute, which, after 44 years with the network, including 24 years as anchor, Rather surely deserves.
The hour will feature Rather recalling his globe-trotting career, which took him from hurricanes to political conventions to foreign wars and back. His life in the CBS limelight also featured its share of controversies, from run-ins with President Nixon to signing off the “Evening News” with “Courage!” to the flawed report on President Bush’s National Guard service that ultimately did him in.
CBS had a modest farewell in March 2005, when Rather left the anchor desk, but the upcoming hour includes a new interview in which Rather addresses leaving CBS News. Knowing Rather, this is bound to be emotional.
“The CBS News audience, they stuck by me through sunshine and storms, and through the good times and bad times,” Rather says in the program, according to a press release.
Rather is joining Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban’s HDNet, a small network for owners of high-definition viewers, to report and anchor a news series.
Note to self: Buy earplugs!
Comedian Cheech Marin, former “Xena” Lucy Lawless, actress Lea Thompson, wrestler Chris Jericho, gymnast Carly Patterson, actor Alfonso Ribeiro and “Queer Eye” style guru Jai Rodriguez are set to join actual singers on Fox’s new reality series “Celebrity Duets.”
This warbling version of “Dancing With the Stars,” from “American Idol” guru Simon Cowell, debuts Aug. 29.
The aforementioned nonsingers are among the soon-to-be-embarrassed who will be paired with pros such as Patti LaBelle, Aaron Neville, Clint Black, Michael Bolton, Belinda Carlisle, Taylor Dayne, Peter Frampton, Macy Gray, James Ingram, Wynonna Judd, Chaka Khan, Kenny Loggins, Richard Marx, Brian McKnight, Smokey Robinson, Randy Travis, Dionne Warwick and Lee Ann Womack.
Doesn’t this sound like a celebrity freak show, partnering has-beens and almost-has-beens? On the other hand, it could be so awful it’s good.
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Who will win “America’s Got Talent” and “So You Think You Can Dance?” Finales air tonight.
Two big summer reality shows screech to a conclusion and a semi-conclusion tonight — simultaneously, so if you care, be sure to set the recorder.
What are the odds that NBC’s surprise reality hit “America’s Got Talent” will crown someone who has talent after tonight’s performance episode and Thursday’s announcement?
Probably the same odds as tonight’s two-hour extravaganza (7 to 9 p.m.) not being packed with commercials, inane banter and tons of useless stuff. In other words, slim and none.
It’s considerably more likely that someone who can actually dance will be crowned the winner on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” tonigh).
But in both shows, we’re also likely to see people who think they have talent but who actually are embarrassing themselves for viewers’ enjoyment.
Regis Philbin, no doubt wearing one of his trademark shiny suits, will host “America’s Got Talent,” riding herd on the trio of judges that includes Brandy, David Hasselhoff and Piers Morgan. Nine acts will compete in various “talent” areas for the $1 million prize, to be revealed Thursday at 8 p.m.
“Sometimes I wish I had a buzzer,” Philbin said with candor in Los Angeles recently. “Some of the contestants want it pretty bad, but they just don’t have the goods to deliver.”
Here’s my question: If the yodeling 11-year-old singer Taylor Ware wins, what will become of her? Well, she’ll pocket a cool $1 million. But it’s not like a normal singer or dancer, who might get a contract to do something in show biz. The best a kid yodeler can hope for is a quick trip to Vegas and maybe a county fair. And a visit with Conan.
Conceived as a one-time summer quickie, “America’s Got Talent” has become such a hit that NBC is bringing it (and Reege) back in January.
“There’s nothing hard about it,” Philbin said with a sly grin. “I kinda love it.”
Says creator/producer Ken Warwick, whose credits include “American Idol”: “There’s a whole generation that doesn’t know variety. They’ve never seen ‘Ed Sullivan’ or ‘The Gong Show.’ “
If they watch “Talent,” they’ve still not seen “Ed Sullivan,” but they’ve definitely experienced “The Gong Show.”
On Fox’s hoofing contest, host Cat Deeley will announce the winner of this year’s prize — a one-year contract to work on Celine Dion’s spectacular Vegas show, “A New Day.” The crowning portion of the two-hour telecast begins at 8 p.m.; the earlier hour is a rehash of last week’s performances, so plan accordingly.
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A sneaky new local sports channel
You’ve probably heard of a “soft launch,” but how about a covert launch?
When nobody was looking — or even suspecting — Time Warner’s News 8 Austin launched a 24-hour local sports headline service on Digital Channel 408.
Yep, on Aug. 8, News 8’s Non-Stop Sports, aka NSS, was born. Flip to 408 on your digital service and there it is, spewing out sports info day and night.
Brian Benschoter, general manager of News 8, describes NSS as “still a work in progress,” but he says we should think of the new channel as “a locally focused ‘SportsCenter.’ ” This month the focus will be on football previews for area high schools, the University of Texas, Texas State and Texas A&M.
“But as we move into September, it will evolve into more sports-news-of-the-day, with a perpetual score ticker,” Benschoter says.
Like News 8, NSS is a “wheel” format, updated throughout the day, but unlike News 8, which has updates on the hour and half-hour, the sports wheel will vary in length. On a slow sports day, it could be as short as 15 minutes; on a big sports day, such as Texas-Oklahoma University game day, it could expand to an hour.
Benschoter says the sneaky launch was to give the channel time to work out technical glitches.
“Now we feel comfortable enough with the new technology to go public and ask for viewer feedback and suggestions,” he says. “I’m amazed by how many people have already found it. It has been the talk of the Texas State Bobcat fan site already.”
Take a look at News 8’s NSS and then post your comments online.
Emmitt can run, but can he dance?
First it was poor Jerry Rice, stumbling through the tango and other impossible-to-execute ballroom dances. Now it’s going to be former Cowboy Emmitt Smith.
ABC has announced the celebrity participants in the new season of “Dancing with the Stars,” and Emmitt is among the wannabe hoofers.
Also on the roster — and destined to make Emmitt look pretty good by comparison — are bow-tied boy-child Tucker Carlson, the conservative pundit of of MSNBC, and noted over-the-top talk-show host Jerry Springer. Maybe Springer will just throw a chair.
The new season of the show, which begins Sept. 12, also will feature Vivica A. Fox, Harry Hamlin (his wife, puffy-lipped Lisa Rinna, danced last season), Joe Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Sara Evans, Willa Ford, Monique Coleman and Shanna Moakler.
Thankfully these dubious dancers will be paired with genuine professionals, who somehow will transform a few of them into a semblance of grace and passion.
Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba return as judges. A combination of judges’ scores and viewers’ votes will determine who wins the big mirror ball trophy.
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9/11 viewing choices
The fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks is still weeks away, but the documentaries and specials are already piling up.
If this wound is still too raw for you, plan to avoid television for about a month because it’s going to be difficult to miss the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. It might be best for your mood and psyche to peruse the opportunities and pick a few.
Here is a brief (and admittedly incomplete) rundown of some of the many upcoming Sept. 11 specials:
“The Miracle of Stairway B,” 7 p.m. tonight on the History Channel. Against all odds, 12 firefighters, three office workers, and a Port Authority cop survived the collapse of the North Tower. This is their story.
“On Native Soil,” 9 p.m. Aug. 21 on Court TV. A documentary — a bare-bones summary, really — based on the 9/11 Commission Report.
“Inside 9/11,” 6 p.m. Aug. 27 on the National Geographic Channel. First shown last year on NGC, this is an updated version of that four-hour miniseries.
“The Final Report: Osama’s Escape,” 9 p.m. Aug. 29 on the National Geographic Channel. A look at how a wily Saudi terrorist managed to steer clear of the most powerful nation on Earth in the months and years after the attacks of Sept. 11.
“Inside the Twin Towers,” 8 p.m. Sept. 3 on Discovery. Tragedy and miracles after the planes penetrated the World Trade Center.
“Five Years Later: How Safe Are We?” 9 p.m. Sept. 6 on CBS. Katie Couric’s debut as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” precedes by one day this CBS News report on the state of our security in the wake of Sept. 11.
“Koppel on Discovery: The Price of Security,” 7 p.m. Sept. 10 on Discovery. Former “Nightline” anchor Ted Koppel interviews past and present administration officials, military and security experts about national security and civil liberties. A live town hall meeting with families of Sept. 11 victims and others follows.
“9/11,” 7 p.m. Sept. 10 on CBS. A repeat of the chilling 2002 award-winning documentary by French filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet.
“The Path to 9/11,” 7 p.m. Sept. 10 and 11 on ABC. A dramatized miniseries based on the 9/11 Commission Report.
“America Rebuilds Part II: Return to Ground Zero,” 8 p.m. Sept. 11 on PBS. A look at memorial plans and the hole left in the nation’s spirit by the terrorist attacks in New York.
Permalink | | Categories: News coverage
New girl on ‘Sesame,’ DIY wants a stud!
The 37th season of “Sesame Street” premieres Monday on PBS (7 a.m. on KLRU Channel 18).
The new season touts the arrival of Abby Cadabby — the first new girl Muppet to join the program in more than a decade. Last Sunday’s New York Times magazine included a nice little piece on the pink-pigtailed girl.
The Muppets on “Sesame Street,” you may recall, are primarily male: Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, etc. The females tend to be supporting players, like Zoe and Prairie Dawn.
But Abby is conceived as a female lead, which should make life a bit more interesting … or not. Do preschoolers notice the difference? It never occurred to my son, when he was a “Sesame Street” junkie, that most of the main characters were guys. Nor did any number of girl kids we knew who watched the show.
Anyway, now we’ve got a girl who’s really a girl and who will be front and center all season. Who is this new potential mega-star? Abby is a fairy, a magical creature, complete with wings, a wand and sparkles in her hair. Very pink.
Beside Her Pinkness, the new season also will feature many celebrity guests and pop-culture parodies. Monday’s installment includes a spoof of the multiple “Law & Order” series. The PBS version is called “Law & Order: Special Letters Unit M.”
Celebrities include Grammy winner John Legend, Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, “Today” host Matt Lauer, comedian Amy Sedaris and “Grey’s Anatomy” star T.R. Knight.
And look for parodies including “Outrageous Makeover: Home Edition,” with Grover in the role of Ty Pennington, and “Survival: Musical Chairs,” with a Muppet version of Jeff Probst at the helm.
Are you a stud?
DIY Network, cable TV’s do-it-yourself mecca, is searching for the next home improvement expert. Gals and guys who think they know the difference between a nut and a bolt could be the next DIY home improvement host!
The winner of DIY’s Stud Finder Search will be chosen “live� on a national morning show in October 2006 and will land a starring role as host of a home improvement series that will debut in early 2007.
To find out how to enter the contest, go to www.DIYnetwork.com, beginning Tuesday. The search continues through Sept. 30.
And please let us know if you’re a Stud Contender!
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‘Ugly Betty’ gets prettier time slot
“Ugly Betty,” ABC’s wonderfully warm-hearted show about an adorable, normal-sized girl in the super-skinny New York fashion world, will air on Thursday nights this fall instead of the previously designated Fridays.
Fridays, as everyone surely knows by now, is a graveyard, with only a fraction of the viewership attracted to network TV on other nights. Thursday nights is one of the most-watched nights, along with Sundays.
Which means that ABC had very little faith in “Ugly Betty” when it announced its prime-time schedule in May. But now that the buzz surrounding the show, starring the fabulous America Ferrera and produced by the equally fabulous Salma Hayek, has grown deafening, suddenly the show rates a decent time slot.
Sometimes you don’t know whether to hug or slap these network programmers. On the one hand, they’re giving us a truly original and completely enjoyable new show. On the other hand, they apparently didn’t know how good it was until reporters and fans started buzzing about it.
Whatever. With the schedule move, “Ugly Betty” will air Thursdays at 7 p.m., leading into the relocated mega-hit “Grey’s Anatomy” which in turn leads into another potentially hot newcomer, “Six Degrees,” at 9 p.m.
The trickle-down effect of moving “Betty” from Fridays to Thursdays will bump to “TBD” (to be determined) status two new sitcoms, “Big Day,” a not-funny comedy about a family’s hysteria on the daughter’s wedding day, and “Notes from the Underbelly,” another not-so-funny comedy about a couple entering the wonderful world of pregnancy. Maybe they’ll be delayed and then disappear.
‘Primetime’s’ cheesy ‘news’
Sam Donaldson, the crusty, hard-news guy with the weird hairpiece who helped launch ABC’s “Primetime Live” as an actual newsmagazine in the ’80s, must be screaming on his ranch in New Mexico.
Last night’s unsavory edition of “Primetime” was anything but news. Dubbed “Medical Mysteries,” it featured people who were desperate to amputate their limbs (an alleged psychiatric disorder) and people who felt like worms were crawling under their skin.
This is not news, by anyone’s definition. It’s more like the “Guinness World Records” freak shows and 200-pound tumor folks that used to be the purview of cheesy cable shows. Now they’re prime-time on a major network masquerading as news.
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Gallup’s wacky news/talk survey
If I were Barbara Walters, I might be a tad worried about the upcoming debut of Rosie O’Donnell on “The View.” And if I were CBS News, I might have concerns, too.
O’Donnell, who joins Walters’ daytime talker in September, apparently has lost a good deal of her All-American Girl appeal from the days of her own syndicated show a few years back.
According to the latest Gallup poll of TV news and talk-show hosts, O’Donnell is viewed as “unfavorable” by 60 percent of those surveyed. By comparison, the much-maligned Star Jones, who was recently booted from “The View,” has a mere 45 percent unfavorable score.
So, who is America’s most-favored news or talk show personality? By far, Diane Sawyer is TV’s most beloved, with an 80 percent favorable rating and a slender 11 percent unfavorable. The ABC News star and “Good Morning America” host even beat the totally adorable Katie Couric, who perked up “Today” for a decade and is now headed for the CBS News anchor desk. Couric had a 60 percent favorable and 23 unfavorable rating. Maybe Couric’s legion of fans are still ticked off that she left “Today.”
Heck, even Dan Rather, who was widely believed to be loathed after he was bumped from “The CBS Evening News,” had a 70 percent favorable and 26 percent unfavorable rating in the poll. Rather better-liked than Couric? Hmmm.
And what of Brian Williams, anchor of the No. 1-rated “NBC Nightly News?” The successor to Tom Brokaw had the strangest results: 47 percent favorable, 7 percent unfavorable and a stunning 38 percent who had never heard of him.
ABC anchor Charles Gibson had a 55 percent favorable, 8 percent unfavorable and 27 percent never-heard-of, while cable guys Bill O’Reilly (Fox) had a 45 good/35 bad response and Anderson Cooper (CNN) had a 43/9 split.
TiVo myth about reality recordings busted
Apparently there’s no truth to the rumor that viewers are less likely to TiVo or otherwise record reality shows. On the just-released TiVo ratings for late July, episodes of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” CBS’s “Big Brother: All-Stars” and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” gobbled up the top six spots.
In fact, nearly half of the total Top 25 recorded programs were reality shows, including “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox), “America’s got Talent” (NBC), “Rock Star: Supernova” (CBS) and “Treasure Hunters” (NBC).
Way down toward the bottom of the list were nonreality shows such as “Windfall,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House,” “The Office,” “Two and a Half Men” and “CSI.”
Permalink | | Categories: News coverage
A Hadlock on NBC
If the face that keeps popping up on NBC and MSNBC from the Middle East lately looks vaguely familiar, there’s good reason: Reporter-producer Charles Hadlock is KXAN anchor Robert Hadlock’s younger brother.
Hadlock the Younger has had several stories on “NBC Nightly News,” including one last Saturday night from Gaza. And on Sunday he was moved to Metula, Israel, on the border with Lebanon.
KXAN’s Robert says several people have asked him if he’s related to the NBC Hadlock. The reply: “Yes, he’s my little brother. He’s in the danger zone — and I’m jealous. I’d love to have a chance to go cover something like that.”
It’s not as if Robert hasn’t ventured away from his Austin anchor desk. He has covered political conventions, inaugurations, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, tornadoes, space flights, the Branch Davidian standoff and three pilgrimages by the pope, including one to Cuba.
But so far, Robert has covered no wars, although political campaigns in Texas come close. He came to Austin in 1987 as weekend anchor for KVUE and has been the primary anchor at KXAN since 1990.
Both Hadlock brothers are native Texans and graduates of the University of Texas. Charles is based at the NBC News bureau in Dallas but has been in the Middle East for a couple of weeks. He has worked for WFAA and KPRC, and led KHOU’s Austin bureau for about a year before it closed down.
Some pre-fall finales
If you’ve become enthralled by some of the summer reality shows, get ready for some finales next week.
Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” closes Monday at 7 p.m.
Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” shuffles off Wednesday at 7 p.m.
NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” presumably finds some talent Thursday at 8 p.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Local people on TV
Dennis Miller to pop off on Fox News
Dennis Miller is about to land where he should have been all the time — on Fox News.
The cranky comedian has become increasingly caustic and political over the years, and now we hear he’ll be popping off on Fox’s “Hannity & Colmes” come fall.
Miller was fresh and funny when he launched his career on “Saturday Night Live” in 1985. He was terrific on “Weekend Update.” But that was pretty much the peak of his funniness. His syndicated late-night talker “The Dennis Miller Show” was fairly dull, and his HBO show, “Dennis Miller Live,” went from dull to semi-funny to simply weary.
Now he’s going to “weigh in on news and politics,” according to Fox news, beginning Sept. 13. I’m pretty sure I can skip that segment.
J.R. and who?
If you follow these things, you’ve probably heard the news that J-Lo has backed out of the big-screen version of “Dallas”
Jennifer Lopez seemed like the wrong choice to play J.R.’s drunken bride Sue Ellen anyway. It’s hard to picture J-Lo being dominated by anybody, especially J.R. as played by John Travolta.
No word on who will replace Lopez in this pivotal role, but they need to look for a fading beauty queen who can slur her words. Hollywood is bound to be heavily populated by such women.
With the exception of Travolta, none of the cast is officially signed, but I have trouble with the other names that are floating around for principal roles. Luke Wilson as brother Bobby Ewing? I don’t think so. Shirley MacLaine as sweet Miss Ellie? Maybe, but isn’t she getting a little old, even for a “Dallas” movie?
For those of you who missed the “Who Shot J.R.” phenomenon entirely, “Dallas” was a mega-hit primetime soap that ran on CBS from 1978 to 1991.
Exciting reality TV news!
Just kidding … “Urgent” e-mail press release from WE lets us know that a new reality series called “Hair Trauma” will air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. this fall. Mark your calendars (and alert your follicles) for Oct. 11.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Entertainment
Katie’s ‘CBS News’ will have opinions
“The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” is going to have opinions — not Katie’s opinions, mind you, but opinions nonetheless.
A new segment titled “Free Speech” will become part of CBS’s nightly newscast on Sept. 5. This opinion and commentary segment is intended to create “a candid and robust dialogue among viewers” about important issues, according the the show’s producer.
“But we’re not looking to pit one side against another or to broadcast shouting matches — there’s already more than enough of that on television,” said executive producer Rome Hartman. “And it won’t be a collection of the ‘usual suspects’ or ‘talking heads.’ “
“Free Speech,” according to Hartman’s plan, will feature a diverse group of voices commenting on an array of subjects. One night, the segment might feature a well-known national figure speaking on a current issue in the news; the next night, someone might offer a humorous take on a trend in the culture. Other nights, current sub anchor Bob Schieffer will serve up his personal take on Washington and the world.
In the past, news programs have fiddled with adding commentary — and most of the fiddling has failed. Point-counterpoints with Bill Clinton and Bob Dole died in a matter of weeks on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” So it will be interesting to see if the latest opinion/commentary segment survives on CBS’s weeknight news.
TV’s “Miami Vice” star returns …
When Don Johnson’s new WB drama “Just Legal” debuted in 2005, it didn’t get much of a reception. It was well-reviewed, but viewers just didn’t come in necessary droves.
But the soon-to-be-gone WB network has decided that the hit movie “Miami Vice” has probably renewed interest in Johnson, who starred in the original TV series, so they’re bringing back “Just Legal” for an end-of-summer — and end of network — run.
On “Just Legal,” Johnson played a grumpy, burned out criminal defense lawyer who becomes a reluctant mentor to a brilliant, 19-year-old legal prodigy, played by Jay Baruchel. The few episodes that aired were promising, and Johnson was superb in the role.
Take a look Sunday at 6 p.m. when “Just Legal” makes its brief return. You’ll get a hint at what made Johnson such a hot property when he was Sonny Crockett.
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Head to Alamodome for “Idol” auditions!
Attention, all you pop-star wannabes!
“American Idol” is NOT auditioning in Austin this time around, but the show IS setting up camp next week at the Alamodome in San Antonio, which, as you know, is just a quick trip south on I-35.
On Wednesday (Aug. 9), registration begins and continues until approximately 8 a.m. on Aug. 11. There isn’t likely to be a long line for this part because registration goes on all day and all night. You’ll pick up your wristband and be told to return Friday morning for actual auditions.
For planning purposes, you might want to take into account the horrible heat and withering humidity, so night-time registration might be the way to go. You don’t want to pass out on your first audition.
The show’s Web site has all the rules and particulars, but basically if you are between the ages of 16 and 28 as of Sunday, you can come through the first round.
I can personally attest that you don’t actually have to be able to sing to get through the first and maybe even the second or third rounds. You can look wacky, cuss up a storm and possibly even mime your way into fame and ridicule.
If you want to make it to the Hollywood rounds and have a shot at winning, well, you should be able to sing. All five previous “Idol” winners — from Kelly Clarkson to Taylor Hicks — definitely can sing.
On Aug. 11 around 8 a.m., contestants will go inside the venue to begin auditions. When they exit, the Fox cameras and other media will pounce — gotta have pictures and quotes of extreme glee and buckets of tears.
Those who make it past that day’s round will be invited back next month for another audition. The sixth season of “American Idol” will debut in January.
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Mel’s meltdown
When a movie star gets drunk and spews anti-Semitic remarks, it’s Really Big News, isn’t it? But will the story stick? Will charm overcome ugliness? And what does this have to do with TV?
In the case of Mel Gibson, the fall-out trickles down from the big screen to the small.
ABC officially canceled Gibson’s long-planned miniseries about the Holocaust. A network spokesman made it sound like ABC’s decision was based on the actor-director’s tardiness in turning in a script that had been discussed two years ago. But that isn’t the reason.
Whoever agreed to let Gibson — whose father has stated publicly that he doubts the Holocaust ever happened and who himself has long been suspected of harboring anti-Semitic sentiments — go near a Holocaust project must have been drunk, too.
If you’ve been underwater at Hippy Hollow for the past few days, you might not know that Gibson was arrested near Malibu in the wee hours of the morning Friday. A breath test dubbed him legally drunk, and the arresting officer has confirmed that Gibson spewed more than a few four-letter words attached to an anti-Semitic rant.
Because this happened over the weekend, the reactions dribbled in rather slowly, but ABC’s Barbara Walters pretty much summed up common sentiment on Monday’s edition of “The View” when she said she has no interest in seeing any more Gibson movies. The audience cheered loudly.
Gibson, as ill-behaving actors are wont to do, has tucked himself away in a rehab facility somewhere to deal with what he has described as a “lifelong” battle with alcoholism and other addictions. It’s unclear how he plans to deal with his addiction to anti-Semitism, which could be a much bigger problem than booze.
Disney execs are stewing right now over how to promote Gibson’s next film, “Apocalypto,” which he directed and is scheduled for Dec. 8 release.
Here’s what’s likely to happen: Adorable Mel will come out of rehab all charming and contrite. He’ll go on “The Tonight Show” and joke about his drunk-driving escapade. He’ll sit down for a fuzzy interview — again — with Diane Sawyer and deny he has any ill feelings toward anyone anywhere.
Is redemption possible? We’ll know Dec. 8, when a bunch of unknown actors take to the screen speaking Mayan.
MTV is 25 today …
Do you care? Those of us who were around when the music video channel launched might not care, but younger viewers obviously do.
MTV remains the most-watched commercial cable channel among viewers 12 to 36. They tune in for cartoons, reality shows, star searches and other nonmusic programming. Appointment viewing like “Laguna Beach” is way more popular than some rapper’s new video release.
Music videos currently run in the graveyard 3 to 8 a.m. shift. Anyone who still craves music videos has to be pretty determined to find them.
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